Trying to get information on the New York & Washington D.C. offices of Latham & Watkins. What is the culture like in each office? Are the hours worse than an average biglaw firm?

I only know Latham attorneys in CA (SD, OC, LA and SF), but they are all great people that I wouldn't mind working with. In fact, I really enjoy hanging out with all of them, when they have time to hang out. I hear that lifestyle and culture are similar between the CA, NY and DC offices (except the usual difference that the East Coast is generally more formal and stuffy).

The one difference I see (and the reason I couldn't work with them) is that work is a huge priority for them. They will work until 2:00 in the morning, work weekends and still bill slightly over 2,000 (because they show up at work the next day and don't have work to do because they did it the night before; I know, it doesn't make any sense). Making partner at Latham, especially equity partner, requires a total sacrifice. The firm requires both you left nut and your first born. The guy I know that just made equity partner billed, 2600 to 2800 three years in a row.

I think the hours are similar to most comparible bigalw shops. The people really are cool, the culture fun, the work high-level and the name recognization (resume building) is huge. If you are going to go biglaw, it's a great place to start a career.